The world's largest species protection conference adopted a string of measures against poaching and wildlife trafficking Tuesday, with conservationists hailing the decisions as providing greater protection to many endangered species, dpa reported. "Governments had to take bold action ... and they did," said Theressa Frantz from the World Wide Fund for Nature as the nearly two-week conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) ended in Johannesburg. The plenary session confirmed a string of measures that had been recommended by committees earlier during the conference. The majority of more than 180 CITES countries rejected proposals by Namibia and Zimbabwe to be allowed to sell their ivory stockpiles in an exemption to the 27-year ban on the international ivory trade. The conference also rejected a proposal by Swaziland to be exempted from the 1977 ban on rhino horn trade in order to sell its stockpile. Africa's elephant population dropped by 111,000 to 415,000 individuals since poaching surged in 2006, while the number of rhinos poached in South Africa has increased from 13 in 2007 to 1,175 in 2015, according to conservationist organizations. CITES adopted global bans on the trade in pangolins, one of the world's most endangered mammal species, and in African grey parrots, more than 1.5 million of which have been removed from their habitats over 25 years, mainly to be sold as pets. The conference also imposed strict regulations on the trade in silky and thresher sharks and devil rays, allowing trade only with special permits and calling for monitoring measures to be put in place. "We are elated by the resounding support for safeguarding the devil rays, some of the oceans' most vulnerable animals," said Sonja Fordham of Shark Advocates International. However, conservationists expressed disappointment over the decision not to place African lions in the strictest protection category in order to ban international commercial trade in lions or lion parts. Africa's lion population has plunged by 43 per cent over the past two decades to about 20,000, according to the organization Pro Wildlife. Overall, "we've seen a real shift in the mindset of the decision makers ... and there is a sense that conservation considerations were foremost when making their findings to protect wildlife rather than simply considering their market value," said Kelvin Alie from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
